The good news is the Rays improved on last year’s on-field performance by 12 games in 2017. The bad news is they still finished at 80-82 and miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Despite the improvement, the team made some significant changes this week on the major league coaching staff. With some coaches who spent more than a decade with the team now gone, Manager Kevin Cash has who he wants around him.
Most draft experts expected the Tampa Bay Rays to choose University of Louisville two-way player Brendan McKay in the first round if he was still available. When it was Tampa Bay’s turn to select with the fourth overall pick, McKay was still there and Tampa Bay quickly scooped him up. He has unique two-way talent. In 2017, he hit .343 with 17 home runs and drove in 56 runs. As a pitcher, he won 10 games, lost three and sported…
In sports, a tie means no one wins. No one loses, either. Sometimes, in politics, ties can turn out to be victories. On Monday, the Florida Senate essentially handed the Tampa Bay Rays a win with a tie, after the Commerce and Tourism Committee voted 3-3 on a bill from Thonotosassa Republican Tom Lee, which prohibited pro sports facilities from using taxpayer funds. With that, Lee’s bill was officially called out on strikes this Session. Supporting Lee (who is not on the…
This week, St. Petersburg residents start receiving ballots for the May 2 referendum asking to give the Tampa Bay Rowdies a 25-year lease for Al Lang Field. St. Pete Entrepreneur Bill Edwards is advocating — and paying for — the measure. However, considering the questions fielded in public forums by Edwards’ spokesperson Rick Baker, the referendum will be something of an easy sale. Baker, the former (and possibly future) mayor, is making his pitch to neighborhood and community groups throughout the city.…
In 1944, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall starred in their first film together. To Have and Have Not had nothing to do with baseball, but it is a fitting title for the current structure of Major League Baseball. Baseball is broken down into the “haves” and the “have nots.” The big-market teams will mostly be buyers this week. These are the haves. The smaller-market teams will mostly be sellers. These are the have nots. This week is the clearest demonstration…
St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster has issued a memorandum written to the City Council, the Pinellas County Commission and Stuart Sternberg, the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, which says, in a nutshell, that the city will fight any attempt by the Rays to look beyond the city limits for a new stadium location. “I do agree that the Rays are a “regional asset,” and will work tirelessly with the political and business leaders of Tampa Bay in support of…
Following a meeting with St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster, Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said Monday that the team wants to explore all potential new ballpark options within the Tampa Bay area, including those outside St. Petersburg and Tampa. “The future of Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay depends on finding the optimal site for a new ballpark,” Sternberg said. “It is my conviction that if baseball is to survive and flourish in Tampa Bay for the long-term, we must…